Election observer group says it will fan out to all 33 counties for the first time

Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico

This article was originally published by Source New Mexico.

The first day of early voting on Tuesday for New Mexico’s June 2 primary election included some problems in a handful of counties with the state’s same-day voter registration system.

Secretary of State Director of Communications, Legislative and Executive Affairs Lindsey Bachman confirmed to Source NM that at around 11:30 a.m., the state’s “website firewalls incorrectly determined that traffic between some county computers and the website was unsafe,” and blocked the traffic.

The same-day registration systems “were operational during the event,” she wrote, “but the communications interruptions did not allow them to work together as needed for normal availability in a few affected counties.”

She said the issue was resolved by 1 p.m.

“We are continuing to monitor the situation, but do not expect any recurrence,” Bachman said. She said she did not have confirmation of the specific counties impacted as of Tuesday afternoon.

Sandoval County was one of them, however. Deputy County Clerk Joey Dominguez described the problem as a “hiccup.”

Roosevelt County also had temporary issues with same-day voter registration, but Clerk Mandi Park told Source NM that was because she had a “user-error issue” and forgot her password for the same-day registration application. That problem also was short-lived.

Both county officials said only one person requested same-day registration while the systems were down, and both were able to cast provisional ballots.

State’s first ‘semi-open’ primary underway

Anecdotally, voting began quietly Tuesday morning in Bernalillo County, officials told Source NM. (Bachman said the Secretary of State’s Office will begin reporting voter turnout and same-day registration data on Friday.)

However, Bernalillo County Clerk Michelle Kavanaugh told Source NM she anticipates an uptick in participation in response to the state’s new semi-open primaries.

Under the new law created by Senate Bill 16, passed last year, independent voters can now cast ballots in either the Republican or Democratic primaries while remaining unaffiliated with either party.

As of Tuesday morning, Kavanaugh said only a handful of “decline to state voters” had voted. Of Bernalillo County’s approximate 447,000 registered voters, 44% are registered as Democrats, 27% as Republicans and another 27% as “decline to state” voters. Of the state’s approximately 1.4 million registered voters, 40% are Democrats, 31% are Republicans and 26% are independent voters. Remaining voters are registered to the state’s minor parties.

“We’ve had some time to prepare and we’re hoping to see a growth in the number of people voting in primaries,” Kavanaugh said outside the Clerk’s Annex on Lomas Road, an “I Voted” sticker on her lapel.

Democratic voter Sheila Mahoney, a retired nurse midwife with Indian Health Services, told Source NM she supported the inclusion of “decline to state voters” in New Mexico primaries.

“I think it’s great,” Mahoney, 71, told Source NM. “Why should they be left out of the primary, they vote, they’re citizens.”

Democratic voter Lance Chilton, 81, a retired pediatrician from Albuquerque said he had “mixed feelings” on the recent expansion.

“I prefer that everybody get a chance to vote, I just think they should have to determine which group they’re part of, which party, when they do,” he said.

Election watch expansion

Carmen López, a co-leader of the nonpartisan group Observe New Mexico Elections, said the group is training coordinators to observe the primary elections for the first time in all 33 counties.

“In 2024, we only attempted to observe in three or four counties,” López told Source NM.

The observers watch poll worker training, election machine checks and election result certifications and compile a report to assess election quality, to “heighten transparency and strengthen voter confidence” in the process López said. For the general election, the group plans to seek up to 300 observers across the state, she said.

Expanded early voting, with additional primary election sites, will begin May 16 and end on May 30 in advance of Election Day on June 2.

Danielle Prokop covers the environment and local government for Source New Mexico.